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Gill Coleman, 71, from Clareville Road, Middlesbrough, seemed very enamoured with the mayor.

“I think Ben Houchen is absolutely a breath of fresh air,” she said.

“He’s doing exactly what he said he was going to do and I fully support everything he’s doing.

“I live in hope that, once we get Brexit, and we then get the customs union, we will then get a free port and this will bring the whole of the world - not just the EU - the whole of the world, knocking on our door."

Mayor Ben Houchen at the SSI site (Image: Katie Lunn)

Now, to be fair, she did say she was a Conservative and admitted the possibility she might be more than a little bit biased.

She gave him 100% - AAA - as you might expect.

Others were more cautious.

Gareth Cole, a 38-year-old Virgin Media worker from Middlesbrough, gave the mayor a C.

“It’s a long road ahead,” he said adding: “Keep doing what he’s doing and it’ll be happy days.”